Selection: Michalis Katsigeras

CRISIS IN FRANCE: Paris – An emergency meeting held by the French cabinet on April 12 to determine the government’s stance with regard to the crisis as regards Tunisia has proved fruitless. France was under pressure to resolve the crisis, either through the involvement of the UN Security Council or having to accept the “good services” of the two mediators from the USA and Britain. Three days later, the deadlock led to the downfall of the French government due to the intransigence of the conservatives in the [Felix] Gaillard government, who comprised about 100 deputies in the National Assembly. The next day, French President Rene Coty began talks with the leaders of the political parties and groups in the French National Assembly in an attempt to try and resolve the crisis after the Gaillard government lost a confidence vote over the Tunisian issue. So far, nothing positive appears to have emerged from the talks. The president of the National Assembly said that the crisis would be “either short or long,” apparently meaning that it does not appear possible to resolve the problem in the usual manner of compromise and negotiation.